Theory of a Deadman became the first act to sign with Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger's 604 Records imprint in 2001. They released their eponymous debut album Theory of a Deadman on September 17, 2002. The name of the band comes from a song from their first album, whose lyrics describe a man preparing to commit suicide. That track was later renamed "The Last Song".[1]

On March 29, 2005, Theory of a Deadman released their second album, Gasoline. After the release of the album, the band toured with Shinedown and No Address. Starting on March 1, 2005, Theory began a promotional tour, headlined by Breaking Benjamin and The Exies. Songs from Gasoline appeared in the soundtrack of the 2005 video game Fahrenheit, which was released under the title Indigo Prophecy in the United States.

On April 9, 2009, Scars & Souvenirs was certified gold by the RIAA, with sales reaching 500,000 copies in the U.S. alone.[7] In 2009, singer Tyler recorded a dance song called "Loaded Gun" with the Belgian DJ Regi Penxten.

In late 2010, it was announced that the band would start recording their fourth studio album, which was projected to be released in mid-2011.[8] It was then confirmed by Tyler Connolly, that the band's fourth album would be released on July 12, 2011.[9] The first single from the album, "Lowlife", was released on May 17, 2011.[10] The title of the upcoming album was announced to be The Truth Is...[11]

In 2011, Theory co-headlined the second annual Carnival of Madness Tour with Alter Bridge. The supporting bands were Black Stone Cherry, Adelitas Way, and Emphatic. The band contributed a new song, which was co-written with The Exies singer Scott Stevens, called "Head Above Water", to the Transformers: Dark of the Moon soundtrack, which was released on June 14, 2011. Another track titled "Drag Me to Hell" was made available for free through the official Roadrunner Records website on June 16, 2011.[12] The second official single, "Out Of My Head", was released on June 14, 2011.

On November 9, 2013, it was confirmed via Theory's Twitter page that pre-production on their fifth album had started. In January 2014, they stated that they were "finishing up record number 5 next week" with release dates and news soon to come. In April 2014, Theory of a Deadman announced that a new single titled "Drown", would be released in April, with their new album Savages released in July.[13] The song "Panic Room" from the album would serve as the theme song for WWE's October pay-per-view Hell in a Cell.[14]

On April 28, 2015 the band released a 5 track acoustic EP titled Angel. On 11 November 2016, the band released a cover of the song "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen, a tribute to his death on the 7th of the same month. [15]

In January 2017, the band announced they were in London recording their sixt studio album. On February 10, 2017, the band released a cover of Sting's single "Shape Of My Heart." On March 17, 2017, the band released a cover of "Cold Water" by Major Lazer. On July 27 The band announced that the album will be titled Wake Up Call and it will be released on October 27 and released a music video for the song "Rx" which will be from the album.

The Western Canadian Music Awards are given out by the Western Canadian Music Alliance, a consortium of music industry associations from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Yukon Territory. Theory of a Deadman has received one WCMA award and two other nominations.[17][18][19]